In the electrical industry there are a wide variety of applications in which bundles of wires or cables are mounted to panels or other similar mounting surfaces. In many of these applications a buttonmount type of cable tie is utilized. Buttonmount ties have an enlarged head portion that allows the strap to be inserted from a first side of the panel through a hole to the second side, looped around the bundle, and reinserted to the first side where it is lockingly engaged. The bundle of wires is therefore secured against the second side while the enlarged head portion prevents the tie from passing through the hole. It is often preferable for these applications to have the bundle held in a position spaced from the panel so as to avoid marring of the wires by the sharp edges remaining when a hole is punched in the panel.
Prior standoffs have included a generally cylindrical member having a single bore. In use the cable tie strap is inserted through the hole of the mounting surface and through the bore of the standoff looped around the bundle and reinserted back through the bore and the hole to be engaged with the locking head. A problem encountered in the field when using this prior art standoff is that the cable tie must be inserted into the mounting hole and within the bore of the standoff at the same time as it is being secured around the bundle. Therefore, improvement in the art is needed.
In general, a standoff for use with a cable tie for securing a wire bundle to a panel at a spaced distance from the panel, includes a body having a top side, a bottom side, and outer side surfaces therebetween for defining an interior separated from an exterior of the body; a pair of opposing strap passageways extending through the interior of the body from the top side to the bottom side; and a pair of access slots disposed between the top and bottom sides connecting the strap passageways to the exterior of the body.
Also, a standoff for holding a wire bundle a spaced distance from a panel for use with a cable tie in which a cable tie strap is inserted through an aperture in a mounting surface, looped around a bundle, and inserted back through the aperture and secured thereto, generally includes a body member having a top end for abutting a side of the mounting surface, a bottom end for positioning the wire bundle a spaced distance from the mounting surface, and outer side surfaces therebetween for defining an interior separated from an exterior of the body; strap passageway means provided on the interior of the body for allowing the cable tie strap to be passed through the body from the top to the bottom end; and access means disposed on at least one side surface of the body and situated between the top end or the bottom end of the body for providing access to the strap passageway means.